Okay, now this is the last chapter – an epilogue to tie up loose ends :) I really like how this ends. I hope you do too.
*Haf means "summer" in Welsh
*Hefin also means "summer" in Welsh
To say that Gwen was confused would be an understatement. First her maidservant runs off with only a note saying, 'I have to help Merlin!' scrawled quite illegibly –really, she's going to have to get onto her about slacking on her lessons– then Leon and the knights showed up with an exodus of villagers, and now Arthur, Syra, and Merlin, carrying a small child, arrive on horseback.
"Arthur," Gwen greets at the steps. She stands tall and regal. Her subjects are all around her. "Arthur, what the hell is going on?"
From the left of her, Gwen's sure George choked on air.
x~X~x
"That's…that's quite a story," Gwen stammers.
They're sitting in Arthur's chamber, and have been since the trio returned early that morning. The sun set barely an hour ago, but Gwen doesn't feel the tired in the slightest, not after the story she's just heard; not after discovering Merlin's…abilities.
Sheepishly, Merlin, the apparent warlock, rubs at the back of his head. "Yeah. I'm, um, I'm sorry I never told you."
Gwen blinks. "Well, I suppose you technically did, when you stood up to Uther to prevent my father from burning."
Merlin's eyes went wide. "You remember that?" The 'But that was years ago!' was hinted heavily in the air.
"Of course!" Honestly, Gwen was a little surprised Merlin would think she'd ever forget that day. "You were my best friend back then, Merlin, and you still are–" Arthur's hand tightens around her waist slightly "–and I don't know how to thank you enough or all you've done."
Smiling, Merlin opened his mouth, probably to reply with an, "I don't need any thanks," but Syra beat him to it.
"How about a house to call our own?"
She was cradling the sleeping Cadell, leaning against Merlin with her head on his shoulder. Gwen thought they looked positively adorable.
"I'll do better than that," Arthur said, grinning. "I'll give you a whole floor of the castle to call your own. That way you can do all the experiments and magic you want without it being bothered."
"R-Really?" Merlin asked, his eyes going wide again.
Arthur laughed. "Really. I did make a promise to you after all. Don't you remember?"
For a few seconds, Merlin looked confused, but then he gasped. "Wait, you mean the – so when you said – I'm going to be…"
As Merlin continued floundering his way through speech, Arthur laughed again. "Yes, you idiot. Once magic is legalized, we're going to need someone to protect and teach."
"Teach?" Merlin squeaked out.
Syra nuzzled against Merlin's neck, her eyes closed. "I think it's a great idea…but an even better one is sleep." She opened her eyes, her head still nestled in the crook of Merlin's neck. "We can discuss this later."
"Syra's right," Gwen said, standing up, much to Arthur chagrin – he was quite comfortable leaning against his wife! "Let's meet in the morning during breakfast. We clearly still have much to discuss."
"Right," Merlin said slowly. Gwen was slightly worried his eyes would permanently stay wide, but then he gave a small nod and seemed more like himself. "Right, of course. Do you need me to–"
"Just go to bed, Merlin," Arthur said. "I'll be fine."
With a quick bow from Merlin and a shrewd wink from Syra, the pair exit the bedchambers.
"You will indeed be fine," Gwen said, pressing her body against Arthur's. "My lord."
Arthur smiled wickedly down at her. "And how do you know that?"
Gwen simply giggled, a low, sly sound, before beginning to lift Arthur's shirt.
"Because I'm the Queen."
x~X~x
Within three months, magic was legalized.
But, surprisingly, that wasn't what Camelot's citizens were talking about.
The Queen was pregnant.
(And so was Syra, but it took another few months for that to spread, considering Merlin hadn't become the High Court Sorcerer yet.)
x~X~x
Within the next three months, the silence of Morgana finally ceases, and the knights of Camelot must ride out to thwart her plans.
"Be safe," Josephine whispers.
Brushing the hair out of her eyes, Leon bends down and kisses her lips, "I will."
Catharine and Lionel, her twin younger siblings, clutch to Leon's legs. "Don't go!" they cry, tears forming in their eyes; the loss of their younger brother still greatly affects them.
"I'll be fine," Leon promises, bending down on one knee. "And when I come back, I will teach you both how to spar. How does that sound?"
The twins nod mutely, breaking into smiles. Leon kisses the top of their heads.
As the twins are ushered inside by Josephine, Leon walks towards his comrades, where they're preparing the horses.
"That's going to be you soon," Merlin tells Arthur.
"And you," Arthur replies. Both men grin.
x~X~x
Cadell adores her siblings. She sings to them every night and helps Syra watch over them whenever Merlin is too busy.
"Goodnight, Haf," she kissed her sister's head, "Night Hefin," she kissed the boy's head as well.
"Come now, Cadell," Syra said, her arm outreached, "It's time to sing to the Prince."
Cadell grins, racing past her mother, who laughs at her enthusiasm and runs after her. They run all the way to the chamber, where Arthur, Merlin, and Gwen are already waiting.
"Gwydion is very blessed to hear this melody," Gwen whispers to Syra as Cadell's melodious voice fills the room.
"We all are," Syra replies.
From the other side of the room, Arthur and Merlin, both exhausted from the day's duties, sit at the table, watching the scene unfold.
"The four of them are going to be fine friends," Arthur comments.
Merlin, on the other hand, snorts. "The four of them are going to be troublemakers, Arthur."
"Well, of course they are, Merlin. But still, loyal friends."
Grinning, Merlin asks, "Just like us?"
Arthur nods, his worry about 'station' and 'emotion' having died months ago. "Just like us."
x~X~x
However, it doesn't become "just like them." Over the years, Gwydion and Haf evolve from friends to lovers to, eventually, rulers. They live long lives, producing many heirs and keeping the peace between humans, creatures, and druids for their entire reign. Hefin, though he possess no magic, unlike his sister, becomes the finest dragonlord the world has ever seen – after his father, of course. He scours the world, finding eggs long forgotten, and releases them to be free at last. He never marries, but his love is not wasted, for it goes to open sky and the winged beasts who are far more precious to Hefin than any woman or man could be.
As for Cadell, she stays by her father's side. She stays for a very long time –until the early 1200s, because she knows he has to be alone to fully move on from the past. Move on from his grief– before eventually returning to the ocean. Unfortunately, Cadell could never be a full kraken again, but her mother did grant her the ability to transform; her legs begin to multiply when she touches water until she has eight light pink tentacles rather than two human legs. For many years, she explores the ocean alone until one day, around the 1700s, when she encounters a lone mermaid. Together, they adventure and, finally, start a family of their own.
Cadell always waits for the one day when her father will call for her. She waits for the day when her family will be reborn. She waits, just like her father.